Sometimes April showers bring more than May flowers. They also bring swimming pool-size wet spots in backyards throughout Northeast Ohio. These wet spots occur for a number of reasons — most often it’s because of poor landscape grading. Adding fill dirt to low spots won’t solve the problem: all you’ll end up doing is pushing the water to a different location.

Of course, you’re lucky if the wet spot in your yard is away from your house. Water pooling alongside your foundation is never good, and the problems than ensue are plenty. We’ll tackle that in another blog post. For today, we’re going to look at how a French drain can dry up your backyard.

What is a French drain? It’s a trench filled with gravel that surrounds a perforated pipe that directs water from where it is to a more desirable location. A French drain helps manage water at ground level. Surface water can be easily collected and routed to a drainage ditch or to a storm sewer.

Installing a French drain requires digging a ditch that slopes in the direction you want the water to flow. The ditch should be about 24 inches deep and at least 12 inches wide.

Once the ditch is dug, fill it with crushed stone and then cover the stone with landscaping fabric to keep weeds from growing into the drain.

A four-inch PVC pipe pre-drilled with holes goes on top of the gravel. Make sure the slope is not less than one inch vertical for every eight feet of length. (So a 40-foot pipe should slope at least five inches.) Wrap the pipe in landscaping fabric to keep dirt and roots from invading the pipe. Layer crushed stone on top of the pipe to grade, or you may choose to finish it with soil on top. That way grass on top of the French drain completely conceals it.

The most difficult part of installing a French drain is digging the ditch. This is especially true when you have to trench 100 feet or more, which is not uncommon. It can be back-breaking work, and if you don’t get the slope right, the entire project will fail.

That’s why you should really consider calling The Plumbing Source if you have water problems on your property. We have the excavation equipment and trained operators who can complete the job for you efficiently and professionally.

You see, The Plumbing Source should be your go-to solution for any plumbing need you have, both inside and outside of your home. We have more than 30 years of experience handing every possible plumbing repair you can think of. No job is too big or too small for us.

So if you’re tired of ducks coming onto your property for a swim, pick up a phone and make the right call to The Plumbing Source. We’ll come out to assess your situation and give you a detailed estimate.

Call us today at 877-768-7239.